Whale Wars confronts slaughter of Pilot whales in the Faroe Islands

Faroe Islands fishermen wade into a shallow bay to kill a pod of pilot whales in a hunt called a "grind." Sea Shepherd has launched a new show called "Whale Wars: Viking Shores" to focus attention on the hunt.

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, capitalizing on the tremendous success of their Animal Planet TV show, “Whale Wars,” has now taken on a new battle. With the Japanese fleet’s Antarctic hunt finished for the season, the skull-and-crossbones crew have turned their attention on the Faroe Islands with a new show: Whale Wars: Viking Shores

In the Faroe Islands, the oceangoing conservation outfit is not hectoring a faceless, corporate, government-subsidized commercial whaling outfit with massive factory ships that kill whales in the name of “research.” On this grouping of 18 small islands in the North Atlantic, a Danish protectorate situated between Iceland and Scotland, the people kill pilot whales by hand, on the shore, as part of a traditional hunt called the “Grind,” (pronounced “grinned”) which residents say is thousands of years old.

The Grind is not pretty, and “Viking Shores” pulls no punches. The Faroese send boats out into the ocean to find pilot whales, which are cetaceans not as large as the fin or minke whales hunted by the Japanese, but are slightly bigger than dolphins. Then they herd the mammals toward one of several dozen beaches on the islands, where residents lie in wait. As the powerful creatures beach themselves in panic, hunters wade into them with long curved hooks and slaughter the whole pod in a bloody frenzy. The Faroese eat a lot of pilot whale.

via LA Times

The second episode of “Viking Shores” airs Friday at 9 p.m. on Animal Planet.

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Read an interview with Sea Shepherd captain and environmental warrior, Paul Waston, on what it’s like to confront the Faroes people on their ancient tradition.

Download episode  1 – Bad Blood for free on iTunes (warning: link opens iTunes).

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  1. Just a quick note that is left our of the article, and since you ended your note by adding “The Faroese eat a lot of pilot whale”. Than I just want o ad that these Pilot whales are not endangered, and those approx. 900 o 1.050 whales they slaughter during a normal year, is according to scientific facts less than 0,3% of its pollutation. over 580 year of statistics of whales show no indication that the number of these kind of whale are in danger.

    Many whales are endangered, true. But not pilot whales. Just so people get more facts before they jump to a conclusion.

    1. what are you saying? please tell me that you are not saying that because they not endangered they are okay to be slaughtered? so people are over populate on the earth and cause many well actually are the root to all pollution problems and also are taking the environment of all animals over so, shall we be slaughtered in the streets? should we be eaten as a delicacy killing the oceans animals is wrong and does no good just as the killing of any animal its just wrong

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